Because I Love You

chapter five.

As Megan walked off, Melissa tried to look back at Bella, but realized she had already wandered off somewhere else, by her boyfriend who just walked in of course. "I wonder what took him so long", Melissa thought to herself.

Feeling disregarded, she sat back down in her "princess chair" and played with the sides of her nails, a horrible habit she had since she was a child. For a second she grew disappointed that Elijah was not there to entertain her or just to be there for her. He picked his family first, left her back in New Jersey with her demanding mother. She felt abandoned by him. Bella glanced back at Melissa for a split second but quickly put her attention to another individual from school.

"Well don't you seem lonely," a voice murmured. Melissa looked up to see that it was Tyler, again. He had danced with her about an hour ago, just danced in complete silence, she could not describe how awkward it was in words.

"Why do you care?" Melissa asked him, truly curious as to what the reason is. Sure, her friends had abandoned her at her own party, and he's she was sitting alone but what does he care? Melissa and Tyler have had a distant "friendship" for years.

"Nothing, you just seem lonely. Mind if. I accompany you?" he asked.

"What?" She could barely hear him over the suddenly loud music that the DJ put on, it seemed as if they were the only ones not going crazy on the dance floor.

He stepped up a little closer. "I said, do you mind if I accompany you? You seem all alone." She seemed confused. Melissa still had no idea why he decided to make conversation he with her all of the sudden just because her mother had instructed him to take Elijah's place in everything today.

"There's no point," she told him. "The party ends in half an hour when all the dancing dies down, it's almost ten." He didn't answer for a couple of moments.

Then, he stared right at her, into her eyes and smirked before finding something decent to answer to her. "I never said I had to accompany you here," he said cheekily although she was unsure of what he meant at first. "Look, you don't seem so happy here, I can tell. If you want, you can come to my house after all of this is done and we can just hang out until you want to leave. We have drinks, it'll help you feel better."

Melissa gave him a disgusted look. "I don't drink," she said.

"Which is exactly why you should try it." He gets closer. "I know that your boyfriend's not here, let's face it he left you. Just come and it'll cheer you all up, I'll even drop you off at your house afterwards."

She hesitates. "What am I supposed to tell my mom? That I went to your house for an after party that she's not invited to?" Melissa raises her eyebrows.

"Just say that- that you want to hang out with Gemma. Trust me, she'll be there anyway," he says. "She's just always everywhere." Tyler smiles. Melissa can't help but admire his smile, that's the only thing she would always remembered, the reason why she started liking him in the first place, but Elijah was so kind that she thought she forgot about a all of that.

"But he's not here" she thinks to herself. "Tyler is". He couldn't be that bad of an influence on her anyway, he was smart, the smartest guy in school anyway, and she trusted that he wouldn't make any mistakes if she went with him. He opens his mouth to speak but Melissa interrupts him. "I'm in," she says loud and clear. His eyes widen, obviously surprised that he was able to convince her.